TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, moved another step forward in its flood recovery operations with a design kickoff meeting for its sixth military construction (MILCON) award.
The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded nearly $75.9 million to M. A. Mortenson Company for the new Offutt Security Campus earlier in the summer. The recovery effort, led by the Air Force Civil Engineer Center’s Natural Disaster Recovery Division, will see a total of 13 MILCON project awards to reconstruct more than one-third of the installation that was heavily damaged or destroyed in 2019 by major flooding.
“The reconstruction plan reorganizes Offutt into eight campuses,” said Don Fucik, Offutt program manager. “This project supports the 55th Security Forces Squadron mission, the Air Force’s largest SFS, and will group their facilities together, increasing efficiency and sustainability.”
The security campus project will construct four main facilities: a security operations center, a combined combat arms training and maintenance (CATM) and indoor firing range, a military working dog kennel and a mobility storage warehouse with an attached, covered dog training area.
Following the flood, the 55th SFS was dispersed across seven different locations. Since the end of 2019, the squadron been operating out of multiple renovated dorm rooms, temporary facilities and hangars at Offutt.
Lt. Col. Cameron Maher, 55th SFS commander, reinforced the importance of having a dedicated security campus.
”Cohesion is extremely important in our mission,” Maher said. “Our Defenders have been incredibly resilient during the rebuild efforts. The new campus will give us the facilities and training space to maximize our efficiency.”
The 45,400-square-foot security operations center will accommodate all administrative functions, investigation rooms, a mount/assembly room, locker area and armory.
The 40,500-square-foot combined CATM and indoor firing range facility is designed with a 50-meter small arms range with 28 lanes, two classrooms and a simulator room that includes baffles, bullet traps, ventilation and filters. Both facilities will be constructed with structural steel framing, concrete and insulated metal exterior walls and flat roofs.
The 14,500-square-foot military working dog kennel will house eight military working dogs and include office space for personnel, veterinary services, exam and isolation rooms, as well as tack and storage. The facility will be constructed with metal building frames, concrete masonry walls and a sloped standing seam roof.
Another facility will provide 5,000 square feet for the mobility storage warehouse and 9,500 square feet for a covered dog training area. The training area will include a synthetic turf field and allow for year-round training in inclement weather.
A design kickoff meeting was held in August with construction completion anticipated by November 2024.